Contributing writer, Michelle Portesi ~Kitchen, Bath and Interior Designer
So you’ve made the decision to sell your house. While it’s a simple task to call the real estate agent to get the house on the market (…like Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places!), appealing to potential buyers is a bit more daunting.
As a designer, the following suggestions seem incredibly obvious to me. I’m always surprised when it isn’t obvious to others. So here are a few tips.
Bite the Bullet. Call for a Dumpster.
GET RID OF YOUR JUNK
Seriously. I mean it. Homes accumulate an amazing amount of detritus. From random boxes to broken appliances and furniture, these items seep their way into every closet, garage, nook and cranny. Not only do they rob you now of useable storage, they give a buyer the impression that the home doesn’t have enough storage – in addition to making the place look like a candidate for one of those ‘Hoarders’ shows.
Outside, remove dead trees and weeds. Out go the old tires and rusted out swing sets. Don’t wait UNTIL the house sells to do this admittedly tedious task. You’re just prolonging the inevitable, and will inevitably prolong the sale of your house.
Bite the Bullet. Call for a Dumpster.
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…make it ‘go away’…
PACK UP YOUR ‘STUFF’
Home buyers often can’t see past your personal items and tastes to visualize themselves in a home. Make it easier for them. Box up your prized deer head collection, vast salt & pepper shaker fetish and the family photos. Trust me, you can live without them until your home sells. Keep the most spectacular art pieces and decorative items out for display. Just remember that less is definitely more.
In the kitchen, clear off your countertops and remove all items attached to your refrigerator door to cut down on the visual clutter. Try to keep the area mess free for real estate showings.
If your home looks more like the set of ‘Romper Room’ than a home an adult would feel comfortable living in, try to keep the kid stuff to a minimum. Remember, the whole idea here is to sell your house quickly, so your kids will be back to blissfully riding their big wheels at your new home.
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Take out about 50% of what’s in this room.
MOVE ‘EM OUT!
Remove some of your furnishings. Homes are often packed to the gills, and the sheer overabundance can make a house seem much smaller than it really is.
Take out items that are rarely used, and anything over-sized – like a sofa and loveseat combo that doesn’t fit the proportions of the house. Try living with just the sofa. Definitely remove anything that looks worse for wear.
Arrange furnishing into conversation areas, instead of fixated on the television. Walkways and traffic patterns should be clearly defined and should not run through the middle of your furniture zones.
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Sticker laden purple walls probably won’t appeal to a potential buyer.
TONE IT DOWN
Make the house appeal to as many buyers as possible. Realize that the majority of souls walking through your door may not be as enamored of the Barney purple walls as you are. Neutral paint colors like Kelly Moore’s Mission Tan has a warm medium tone that looks rich, makes artwork pop from the wall and goes with just about any decor. Add more vivacious colors with accent pillows and decorations.
DIY curtains from bed sheets
IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS…
Making a house feel inviting doesn’t have to be expensive. Get creative! Avant-garde arrangements of manzanita branches or pine boughs create fresh floral arrangements that are readily available in most yards. Give your bedroom linens a feeling of sumptuousness with a homemade duvet cover and curtains made with inexpensive sheets. Capture a buyers interest enough to linger in the house. Keep it light, airy and clean.
…and Fresh Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies fresh out of the oven doesn’t hurt either…
Make a house smell ‘homey’.
Shameless plug: And if you truly just can’t visualize the above, contact me and I’ll come over and stage it for you! ~Michelle
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I ran across this excellent article by Lew Sichelman on tax benefits for second homes and how the laws have changed regarding those homes. The article touches on topics such as primary home vs vacation homes, tax benefits of renting out your vacation home, a vacation home that you rent out but still use personally, and vacation home write off expenses.
Here’s an excerpt:
Primary Home vs. Vacation Home
Obviously, if and when your vacation property becomes your primary residence, you are entitled to all the benefits ownership entails. You can write off the interest paid on your mortgage and your property taxes, and you can add the cost of any improvements you make to your basis, or cost.
Moreover, after you’ve lived in your holiday house as your main home for two years, you can exclude up to $500,000-$250,000 for single taxpayers-from the capital gains tax when you sell the place.
If your vacation house is not your primary residence, mortgage interest and property taxes still can be written off, and you still can add the cost of improvements to your basis. But since the capital gains exclusion is limited to your main home, that benefit is not available when you sell.
Some people used to skirt around that limitation by selling their primary residence and moving into the second home. After living full-time in the former vacation for two or more years, they then could sell the place and qualify for the entire capital gains exclusion.
As of Jan 1, 2009, though, the tax law differentiates between the amount of time the house was used as a vacation home or rental property and the period it was used as a principal residence.
The rules do not apply to vacation homes purchased before Dec. 31, 2008. But after that, the rules distinguish between “non-qualified” periods of rental use and “qualified” use” as a principal residence. The minimum period necessary to qualify as a principal residence – two years out of the five years preceding the sale – still applies, but now you’ll have to allocate any gain between periods of qualified and non-qualified uses.
Again, this is complicated stuff, so be certain to consult with a tax professional. Meanwhile, let’s move on the tax benefits of renting your vacation property.
A lot of great info on this article. To read the rest, go here: Second Home Buying –
Practical Tips and Articles for Buying a Second Home
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
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~By Michelle Portesi
Did you know we now have our very own butcher and fresh organic meat purveyor in Truckee? Well, you do now!
Located on Donner Pass Road in the same complex as Smokey’s Kitchen (Across from what used to be the outlet stores) is your new venue for organic meats and unusual cuts that are hard to find. Yesterday while I was in the store, they had fresh rabbit in the case. Now how often do you see that at the grocery store?
The store is closed on Monday and Tuesday so that the owners, Clint and Linda Clark, can drive to wherever they need to go to get their fresh offerings. They are also amenable to special orders, as long as you give them enough notice as to what you’re looking for.
For instance, as a hearty peasant stock Italian, one of our family recipes is for an appropriately peasant version of Polenta. Our version has lamb ribs in it, which are near impossible to find these days as most of our lamb is no longer butchered at the store. Only the select cuts are offered, and as a result, the less desirable cuts never see the light of day at your local grocers. Well, my search is over for this hard to find item. A phone call or a stop into the store for a request is now all that is needed. Now if I can only locate those even harder to find little Italian sausages…
The store carries beef, lamb, pork, chicken and the most awesome applewood smoked bacon you’ve ever tasted, hand cut on the spot to the thickness you desire. They were setting out fresh chorizo sausage when I was there. And all are nitrate-free, organic and USDA-approved. In addition, they buy locally from small Northern California, family owned ranches who practice good animal husbandry. AND it’s all surprisingly reasonably priced for organic meats. With more and more studies pointing towards non organic meat practices underlying a myriad of health issues, a focus on quality meats instead of quantity dovetails nicely with our local outlook towards healthy living…and good eating.
The Tahoe Tribune wrote an excellent article on the store and the new owners, so I’ll just direct you there to read more about them.
From Ranch to Market- Truckee Meat Company
More info
What: Truckee Meat Company
Location: 12030 Donner Pass Road, Truckee
Phone: 530-414-8585
Online: Find them on Facebook
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